locomotivefandomcom-20200222-history
Class 1000 Shinkansen
Class 1000 was the designation given to a pair of experimental high-speed Shinkansen EMUs. These two sets were used for high speed testing ahead of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen's opening by Japanese National Railways. History 1001, the first car to be built, was delivered on 16 April 1962 from Kisha Seizō based in Tokyo, then transferred by road, and then rail, to Nippon Sharyo's factory based in Saitama; set A was unveiled to the press on 25 April 1962; set B was delivered at a later date. High speed test-running commenced on 26 June 1962 on the 32 km "model track" section between Odawara and Ayase. Both sets broke numerous speed records, both national and international; set B set a world speed record of 256 km/h (159 mph) on 30 March 1963. With trial service and test-running beginning on the actual Tōkaidō Shinkansen with the then-new Shinkansen sets, both the A and B sets were converted and reclassified to serve other purposes; set A was converted to the Class 941 Shinkansen "emergency relief train", while set B was converted to become the Class 922 "Doctor Yellow" track inspection train set T1. Both sets were also repainted, now sporting yellow bodies with blue stripes. The Class 941 set remained out of service at Osaka Depot, while the Class 922 set was used until Class 922 set T2 was delivered in 1974. Both sets met their final fates at Hamamatsu Works, where new scrapping machinery was being tested to ensure that they would be working properly ahead of the first 360 Shinkansen cars being due for withdrawal. All six cars were cut up at Hamamatsu Works, and as a result, none survive today. However, a pantograph from the set is on display at The Railway Museum in Saitama. Specifications The Class 1000s had rather unique features, some of which would be carried onto the production 0-Series sets, and some which would not. All cars were built out of welded steel and had rounded cab windows, with the exception of car 1006 of set B having angular cab windows which would carry onto the production 0-Series sets; car 1004, also from set B, had unusual elongated hexagonal side windows. The Class 1000s also had external sliding doors and a very unique translucent nose section which could be illuminated from the inside with the use of fifteen 20 W fluorescent tubes. Both sets also sported number plates on each side of the end cars. Two Class 1000 sets were built. Set A was 2 cars long and consisted of cars 1001 and 1002, while set B was 4 cars long and consisted of cars 1003 to 1006. Cars 1002, 1004 and 1006 all had auxiliary pantographs positioned next to the main pantographs. All six cars had a different seating configuration. Trivia *0 Series training vehicle 22-1047 was mocked up to resemble set B for a television show. References *Wikipedia.org Category:JR Group trains Category:Electric Trainsets Category:Prototype Locomotives Category:Hitachi locomotives Category:Kawasaki locomotives Category:Kinki Sharyo locomotives Category:Kisha Seizō locomotives Category:Nippon Sharyo locomotives Category:Scrapped Locomotives Category:Built in 1961